By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor
World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy has cut the gap between him and No.1 Ali Farag in the battle for top spot after winning the El Gouna International Squash Open last week.
The 30-year-old ElShorbagy is now poised to challenge Farag for the pinnacle position he has held for eight months in succession and a fascinating battle between these two Egyptian superstars looks set to play out at the remaining events left in the 2020-21 season.
Farag, meanwhile, makes it 19 months at World No.1 in total, which sees him draw level with three-time world champion Nick Matthew in terms of total length at top spot. The pair sit in joint tenth on the list, one place behind current World No.23 Gregory Gaultier.
World champion Tarek Momen stays at No.3 ahead of New Zealand’s Paul Coll, while Marwan ElShorbagy completes the top five.
The rest of the top 10 is made up of Karim Abdel Gawad, Fares Dessouky, Diego Elias, Joel Makin and Miguel Rodriguez.
The only movers in the rest of the top 20 are Frenchman Gregoire Marche, who climbs to a joint career-high ranking of No.14 courtesy of a quarter-final finish in El Gouna, and Egypt’s Mazen Hesham, who drops a spot to No.15 as a result.
The biggest mover this month is Hong Kong’s Andes Ling, who rises 183 places after reaching the quarter-finals of the Chairman Cup last month. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Roger Baddour, who appeared as a wildcard in El Gouna, rises 172 places to No.224.
PSA Men’s World Rankings Top 20 – June 2021:
Picture and graphic courtesy of PSA